Here is the foam: 4' x 16', 2 pieces of 4", and 2 pieces of 6". The odd shaped cuts in the 6 " piece will form the cockpit, lift fan, etc.
Here are the 4 pieces laid together The 2 pieces of 1 x 4 at the back
are to support the engine stand.
My floor wasn't quite straight, so I had to uses some spacers to make
sure the hull was glued together straight.
Here we are gluing the pieces together
Here is the vacuum bagging process. The breather blankets allow the air to move inside the bag. The network of pipes is vacu-flow hardware, with little holes drilled along the pipes, and end caps on the pipes. The vacuum cleaner is a small shop vac. You have to make sure it gets some air, because that's how the motor cools off.
40 lbs on the bathroom scale under the plastic! Assuming that the scale
is about a square foot, that's about 5000 lbs across the surface of the
foam!
Here are the results of the first vacuum bagging session
Next we glued the top layer of plywood, and sides to the hull.
Then I started to work on the underside.
Comments or questions
jproppe@telusplanet.net
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